The Three Laws of Robotics

were introduced by the science fiction author Isaac Asimov in his 1942 short story Runaround:

1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction,

allow a human being to come to harm.

2. A robot must obey the orders given to it by human beings,

except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.

3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such

protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws.

The laws form an organizing principle and unifying theme for Asimov's robotic-based fiction, appearing in his Robot series and the stories linked to it - a guide how robots should and would interact with humans and each other. Asimov himself played with limitations and ambiguities of the laws, and so did other science fiction writers. For example, a robot obeying the laws in a relationship to an individual human could still damage mankind; so Asimov introduced the zeroth law:

0. A robot may not harm humanity, or, by inaction, allow

humanity to come to harm.

Lyuben Dilov in 1974 and Harry Harrison in 1986 suggested the fourth law, 4a and 4b respectively:

4.a. A robot must establish its identity as a robot in all cases.

4.b. A robot must reproduce as long as such reproduction

does not interfere with the First or Second or Third Law.

The fifth law was introduced by Nikola Kesarovski:

5. A robot must know it is a robot.

So much for science fiction writers. Mark W. Tilden, a notable robotics physicist who was a pioneer in developing robotics, gives three guiding principles/rules for robots:

A robot must protect its existence at all costs.

A robot must obtain and maintain access to its own power

source.

A robot must continually search for better power sources.

 2012-07-15 

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